The High Council of Justice postponed the consideration of the complaint against the decision to dismiss judge Nadiya Shcherba due to her service in the Armed Forces
The High Council of Justice postponed the consideration of the complaint by judge Nadiya Shcherba of the Pishchansky District Court of Vinnytsia region against the decision of the Third Disciplinary Chamber of the High Council of Justice dated June 5, 2024, on bringing her to disciplinary responsibility.
The case consideration was postponed due to the judge's own motion. Nadiya Shcherba provided a certificate confirming that she is currently serving under contract in a military unit.
This was the first absence of the judge at the session of the High Council of Justice. Members of the HCJ, guided by the Regulations of the High Council of Justice, unanimously supported the motion to postpone the complaint consideration. It was decided to notify the judge of the new date and time of the session.
In case of the judge's repeated absence, the complaint may be considered without her participation.
Circumstances of the case
As stated in the disciplinary complaints, Nadiya Shcherba, as a judge of the Pishchansky District Court of Vinnytsia region, took actions and made decisions in conditions of a real conflict of interest, namely, from December 8, 2020, to September 8, 2022, she individually participated in the consideration of a case accusing a person of committing a criminal offense under part four of article 296 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, thereby violating the requirements of paragraph 3 of part one of article 28 of the Law of Ukraine "On Prevention of Corruption." The complainant also notes that the judge committed an administrative offense under part two of article 172-7 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses.
The complainant believes that Nadiya Shcherba conducted the case consideration and issued relevant rulings, in particular, scheduled a preparatory court session, lifted the arrest, and returned the accused's vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado.
On September 6, 2022, the victim's lawyer in the criminal case filed a motion to disqualify judge Nadiya Shcherba from the criminal proceedings. During the consideration of this motion, the court established the fact of extrajudicial relations between the accused and the judge over the last 4–5 years. By the ruling of the Pishchansky District Court of Vinnytsia region dated September 8, 2022, the motion to disqualify judge Nadiya Shcherba was granted. The behavior and actions of judge Shcherba not only demonstrate disregard for the high standards of conduct that a judge must observe but also raise reasonable doubts about the judge's ability to impartially perform her functions.
Conclusions of the disciplinary body
On June 1, 2023, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) drew up an administrative protocol regarding the judge. By the ruling of the Kryzhopil District Court of Vinnytsia region dated September 20, 2023, judge Nadiya Shcherba was found guilty of committing an administrative offense under part two of article 172-7 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses and was fined 3,400 hryvnias. Information about the judge's administrative offense was entered into the Unified State Register of persons who committed corruption or corruption-related offenses.
The Third Disciplinary Chamber of the High Council of Justice concluded that the actions of judge Nadiya Shcherba fall under the disciplinary offenses defined in subparagraph "d" of paragraph 1, paragraphs 3 and 15 of part one of article 106 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges" and decided to bring judge Nadiya Shcherba (seconded to the Koziatyn City District Court of Vinnytsia region) to disciplinary responsibility and apply a disciplinary sanction in the form of a submission for dismissal from office.
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